My Best Friend Until The End

by Caithlin Mulligan
(Monaghan)

This story starts at least 16 years ago. My parents were grieving the loss of my sister whose life ended two weeks after her birth. My parents went to a pet store in the big town and there she was, a beautiful Norwegian Elkhound. They named her Sandy and she was like a child to them. She was a strong healthy pup who ran up and down the pet shop while they were buying her.

She had a good life she went on walks chased after ducks, played in the snow during winter and could swim. She could even give you her paw for a treat and oh she loved those shoes or pigs ears!

The next year July 3rd I was born 2000. We bonded, well sometimes I'd sit in her lovely red dog house or bed. She soon began to go into heat and my parents took her out to get a mate ;) and she then had pups there's a picture with me beside them in my room today. Her pups were not in the house for too long do as my parents then ended up giving them away to the pet shop.

She would always help with moving the cattle, she would go on wee trips over the field to the farm and sometimes we would let her out of the car for her to go to my granny's house on her own. She also prevented our house from getting robbed multiple times by alerting my dad by growling in the middle of the night. I remember when she would always lay beside you when she sees you hurt or crying.

In 2008 after the fourth child came into our family we were introduced to Nelly another Norwegian Elkhound. at the start Sandy was quite jealous but then was a mother figure to Nelly. I only realise now that Sandy's time was soon coming and Nelly only came to fill in the gap.

The tragedy of events first began when my grand uncle on my father's side passed away, the next year my granda had Alzheimer's and my granny had cancer. It was the worst feeling ever even for an 11 year old for my granda to forget my name and to see my granny slowly getting weaker. The toyroom in my house got done up and it was miserable I woke up to find some of my cousins who were visiting her in the same bed as me.

Then one unfortunate morning my mum was at the bottom of my bed and she said "tways gone" . My granda was never told about this and he soon was gone three months later. I began my first year of secondary school and everyone was worried about Sandy. She found it difficult to stand up and my parents knew what was going to happen next. One morning when I was going to get the bus I saw Sandy looking at me and I went over to her and gave her a good rub...it was a good premonition.

When I came home from school my brother shook his head at me and my mother began to explain what happened, she hardly needed to start her sentence I quickly put my head to the clothes rack and I do not know how long it was there. I still look out at the flowerbed today where Sandy lays. She died a good age...a good age of fourteen. I remember the sadness in Nelly's eyes, and seeing her lying on the floor of the toyroom as if she was sleeping but cold very cold. I hope you liked my story it has been quite hard to write but this is the story of how I lost Sandy my best friend.